BBC Children’s and Education’sfamily drama Crookhaven is set to return, with the secret school for crooks reopening its doors for a second series, that once again features the friendship between pickpocketing genius Gabriel (Lucas Leach) and Penelope (Carmel Laniado), daughter of the school’s headmaster Caspian Lockett (Dougray Scott).
Based on the bestselling books by JJ Arcanjo, the first series which is made by BBC Studios Kids & Family and premiered in March 2026 and ranks as the highest performing CBBC show on iPlayer in 2026 so far and is also the highest performing drama on BBC iPlayer for 7-12 audiences.
The eight part drama, which aired on BBC One, CBBC and BBC iPlayer, reached an average audience of 653k after 28 days, with 43% of under 16 viewers watching alongside an adult. Fans were eager to discover what happened next, with 58% of 4 to 15-year-olds who watched the final episode on iPlayer during its first eight weeks of availability doing so within the first two weeks. Online, Crookhaven has a total of 14.6M video views across social media in 2026 to date**.
Sarah Muller, Senior Head of BBC Children’s Commissioning 7+ said: “Crookhaven struck a real chord with audiences through its originality, ambition and brilliantly twisty storytelling. Original stories and characters sit at the heart of everything we do, and this series delivers that in abundance, with a world that feels distinctive, inclusive and full of intrigue. Bringing it back for a second series allows us to go even deeper into this rich, morally complex story and raise the stakes for the students of Crookhaven as they return for another unpredictable year.”
Cecilia Persson, Managing Director of BBC Studios Kids & Family, said: “Crookhaven combines ambitious storytelling with world-class execution, capturing the imagination of audiences around the globe. We’re delighted to be able to expand the world further with a second series, allowing us to deepen those connections, raise the stakes, and bring even more viewers along for the journey.”
Filming for series two begins this summer in Northern Ireland and is scheduled to launch in 2027. Crookhaven is created for television by Justin Young (Death in Paradise, Sanditon, Dickensian, Ripper Street) and produced by BBC Studios Kids & Family for the BBC, with support from Northern Ireland Screen.
The Creative Director is Tali Walters, executive producer is Mark Freeland, directors are Jamie Magnus Stone and Aislinn Clarke, and the producer is Leon McGeown-Fee. The series was commissioned by Sarah Muller, Senior Head of BBC Children’s Commissioning 7+, with Amy Buscombe as Commissioning Editor. Global sales are handled by BBC Studios.
* Source: BBCS Global Insight BARB/TechEdge/AdvantEdge/As Viewed. All Devices.
**Source: Tubular (YouTube) & Synthesio (YT, FB, IG, X, Reddit, forums, Bluesky, and Tiktok).
Pippa Considine
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